Season 9- Bonus scenes
by awesomegurl68
Summary: I decided to write a few Sean/Sue scenes to fill in the gaps. The first one takes place during the Toasted episode. I will add more as I think of them or if there are any scenes you want filled in, let me know! I'm trying to keep this within the timeline of events during Season 9 up to the finale.
1. Toasted

Sue fell asleep on the couch after having too many drinks with her mom on her 21st birthday. Sean sighed and got up to clean out the waste basket that held Sue's 'booze soaked layers' of greasy bar food. When Sean was at the kitchen sink, Aiden finally came out of the bathroom.

"Sorry about that, bro. I just..." Aiden began to say when he noticed what Sean was doing. "Oh God...is that...? I have to get out of here." Aiden panicked and covered his mouth as he ran to the door. Before leaving, he turned back to see Sue asleep on the couch and he stopped and pointed at her, silently questioning to Sean if she was okay. Sean nodded.

"It's cool, she's fine...just got a little sick is all." Sean joked as he tilted the waste basket so Aiden could see its contents. Aiden took that as his cue to leave before he got sick himself. Sean just chuckled quietly. "What a marshmallow." He said to himself. The sound of the door closing caused Sue to stir and she bolted awake on the couch, looking side to side in a state of confusion. Sean noticed her panic and quickly went to her.

"What's going on? Sean? You're still here? Oh, I don't feel so good." Sue cringed as she rubbed her stomach. Sean held the empty waste basket up to her but nothing happened so he set it back down on the floor.

"You just fell asleep a few minutes ago, I was just cleaning up a bit." Sean said with a smile, taking a moment to tuck a strand of hair behind Sue's ear.

"Oh...thanks. You should totally be a doctor." Sue chuckle/burped but stopped when it caused her to feel sick again.

"That's the plan." Sean laughed. "You should get some rest, Suzy Q." He said and Sue agreed. She struggled to kick off her boots that were still zipped up. "Here, let me..." Sean said as he got down on the floor to remove her shoes. He set them aside and offered to help Sue get more comfortable by removing her jacket. She accepted the offer and he slid her slim arms out of the sleeves and set it on the back of the couch. He sat back down next to her and wrapped her in the throw blanket that was neatly draped over the back of the couch. She snuggled into it and her head began to drift toward Sean's lap. Just before her head was about to hit his leg, Sean quickly shoved a throw pillow underneath her and she fell gracefully onto it, already fast asleep. He chuckled softly at the sight of her and he leaned back to get comfortable on the couch. It was clear that she had no intention of moving any time soon and she looked quite comfortable. When he shifted, she woke up slightly, looked up at him and smiled.

"Shhhhh...go to sleep." He whispered and lightly traced his fingers along her cheekbone. She gently closed her eyes again, letting out a content sigh before falling back into a deep sleep. Sean continued to softly stroke her face and hair, finding that it was soothing for both of them. Not long after, Sean drifted to sleep himself for a few hours. He woke up to the sound of Frankie coming into the kitchen in search of a pack of cookies. Frankie was only half surprised to see him there taking care of Sue. He was a Donahue after all and it was a Donahue thing to do. Frankie shuffled over to him, cookies in hand and one in her mouth.

"Is she okay?" She whispered and he nodded, suddenly feeling like he was out of place now that there was someone there to witness what had happened. Sue had a boyfriend and here she was, sleeping on the lap of the guy who was secretly in love with her. He wondered how much of that night she would even remember. He especially wondered if she really meant it when she said that she liked him. He thought about staying until she woke up to take the chance to ask her while she was sober, but the awkwardness of the moment with Frankie standing there took over. He gently slipped off of the couch, gently lowering Sue's head and pillow to the couch. She remained asleep, but shifted slightly. Sean adjusted the blanket so she was covered fully and Frankie smiled as she watched.

"Are you feeling okay, Mrs. Heck?" Sean whispered as he got up.

"I will be, now I just need to get some sugar in me." Frankie laughed. Sean could tell that she had already sobered up despite how drunk she had been just a few hours earlier.

"Well, I better be going. It's..." Sean said as he checked his phone for the time. "..wow...it's 5am already. I didn't mean to fall asleep..." Sean stammered. Frankie just waved it off like it was no big deal and Sean headed for the door. "Well, good night...I mean morning? Whatever it is." Sean laughed awkwardly. Frankie waved as he stepped out and closed the door behind him.

As he walked down the hallway, he wondered if he should talk to Sue about the things that she said to him. Maybe she really did like him. Maybe it was just the alcohol talking. He thought about the way she smiled at him while she drifted to sleep on his lap. That must have meant something, but Sue was always smiling so it was hard to tell. He decided to wait until the next time he saw her and see if she would bring it up first. All he knew was that he hoped that she would remember that night the way he would remember it forever.


	2. The Setup

It was an ordinary day for Sue during her Fall Semester. After leaving her last class for the day, she headed to her mailbox in anticipation of a new t-shirt she had ordered online. She was disappointed when she didn't see a package, but was pleased when a pizza flyer floated to the ground when she pulled out the rest of her mail. The flyer read 'Student special: Any Large Pizza only $4.99.' That was all Sue needed to solidify her plans for dinner. She made a quick phone call to place her order and began walking toward the familiar pizza joint. She remembered the one time when she started her freshman year that Axl surprised her at her apartment and took her out for pizza. She held that memory close to her heart because it let her know that deep down, Axl really did care about her even if he always gave her a hard time. It wasn't long before she reached the pizza place and a gentleman held the door open behind his as she walked in the door.

"Suzy Q? What's going on?" Sean cheerfully said when he recognized the woman walking in behind him. Sue was completely caught off guard even though they had already ran into each other several times on campus. A wide smile spread across Sue's face and after a moment of hesitation, she leaned in to give him a hug.

"Hey, Sean! I just got this flyer in the mail and couldn't resist." Sue laughed as she held up the piece of paper. Sean chuckled and pulled the same sheet of paper from his back pocket.

"Me too, I guess great minds think alike. Although I wasn't expecting this much of a line. I would have called ahead but I left my phone at my apartment this morning..." Sean said with a goofy smile.

"Hey, no problem! I already called and mine should be ready by now. Lexie isn't going to be back from her last class until tonight and she's not a big fan of bargain priced pizza anyway. Want to share mine?" Sue laughed and secretly, desperately hoped that he would agree. "Although, I ordered it with pepperoni, I hope that's okay." She said, remembering his hippy days when he decided to be a vegetarian. Sean smiled brightly and nodded furiously, excited that she had invited him over for dinner.

"That sounds great, Suzy Q! And don't worry, those days are long behind me. I just couldn't take my mom's crying anymore." Sean laughed. Sue smiled sheepishly, noticing his excited reaction to her invitation but assuming that he was just being polite. She wished she could just tell him how she felt about him but the timing never seemed quite right. Besides, she had no way of knowing if he even felt the same way. Sue stepped toward the pickup area and pulled her wallet out of her purse, but Sean quickly rushed over with his own wallet in hand and passed his credit card to the cashier. Sue shook her head and tried to speak but he spoke first. "I insist." He said with a smile and Sue nodded. Sean grabbed the pizza and carried it as they walked side by side back to Sue's apartment.

* * *

Sean was kicking himself for not just asking Sue out when they had their pizza 'date.' God, how he wished it really was a date. But that didn't matter right now. He was totally psyched to surprise Sue as her 'blind date' when he showed up to her apartment that night. He wasn't expecting the low blow of her not even being there when he finally arrived.

"Where the heck is my Brie sandwich?" Lexie wondered as Sean stood on the opposite side of the door. "I've been waiting for like an hour already and it was supposed to be here in 15 minutes." Lexie looked at her phone. "What?...it said it was delivered half an hour ago..." She continued as Sean partially paid attention to her. That's when it was all suddenly clear. Sue was expecting a guy to show up at her door. What if some other guy showed up at her door and she thought it was her date? He began to panic and was worried more about Sue's safety than anything.

"Oh my God...I have to go!" Sean yelled as he ran down the hallway, leaving Lexie standing there confused. She groaned when she heard her stomach growl and closed the door to go back to her room.

Sean ran around the campus in search of Sue, even calling out her name several times hoping that she would somehow hear him wherever she was. He tried dialing her number on his phone but she wasn't answering. He needed a moment to catch his breath so he walked slowly through the grassy area of the quad. That's when he noticed Sue and some other guy having what appeared to be a picnic. "What the..." He whispered out loud in shock. Somehow Sue had managed to get a date with some stranger without even trying, but he really wasn't surprised. After all, he was crazy about her and wondered how he had not noticed her long ago. He watched as they laughed and ate, sharing funny embarrassing stories about each other. He realized that this guy seemed to be pretty harmless and knew that Sue had a good head on her shoulders. He watched for a few minutes longer, trying to stay out of view, before he exhaled sharply and walked alone back to his apartment.

* * *

"Sean didn't tell me you were so funny." Sue said as she took another bite of, what happened to be, Lexie's sandwich.

"Who's Sean?" Aiden asked after Sean had already left and was no longer listening in on their picnic conversation. Sue laughed but then tilted her head in confusion, but then laughed, assuming he was just kidding.

"Uhhhh...you know, the guy who set us up on a blind date?" Sue said. Aiden raised an eyebrow.

"Blind date? I have no idea who Sean is but I was just at your apartment to deliver this food. Not that I'm complaining. I was not expecting to end up with a pretty girl when I went to work tonight." Aiden laughed.

"WHAT?" Sue demanded and realized that this had all just been one giant mistake, even if it turned out to be a good one. She thought about Sean's friend who was supposed to pick her up and wondered if he had told Sean that she stood him up. That's when she pictured Sean's face and wished that he was the one she was on a date with tonight. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and noticed a missed call from Sean. She tried to call him back and it went straight to voicemail. She assumed that he knew what happened and that he was mad at her for standing up his friend...but did Sean ever really get mad? She tried dialing once more but it again went to voicemail. She left a quick message explaining what had happened and hoped that he would listen to it. She decided that it was time to wrap up this 'date' and after exchanging phone numbers, Sue headed back to her apartment.

The next morning, she received a text message from Sean. _Walk you to class?_ It read and her heart skipped a beat. Maybe he wasn't mad after all. She sent off a quick text confirming their meeting spot and she ran out the door.


	3. The Christmas Miracle

Sean stood outside of a roadside rest area in rural Michigan, waving his cell phone around in search of a signal. When a single bar appeared on the display, he rushed to dial Sue's number, only to have the call disconnect immediately.

"Damn, Indiana Wireless." Sean complained as he shoved the phone back into his pocket. "Did we really have to choose the cheapest phone plan in the world?" Sean asked no one specifically, but his mom came out of the bathroom just in time to hear the last part.

"What's that about the phone plan, honey?" Nancy asked as she finished drying her hands with a brown paper towel. Soon after, Shelly, Dottie, and Ron came out of the restrooms and were ready to continue to their destination.

"Nothing..." He said simply before getting back into the car. As they drove through the snowy countryside, Sean reminisced about a few nights ago when he and Sue shared a magical Christmas kiss in her backyard. It was dark outside and the snow fell gently around them. After she had comforted him about his grades, in a vulnerable moment he had leaned in...or she did...he wasn't sure...and they kissed. The world disappeared around them and he could only focus on the fact that he was kissing the girl he was secretly in love with. Their kiss grew passionate and he felt that she was enjoying the moment as much as he was. But abruptly, they were forced apart when they heard Nancy yelling for him to get into the car to go to church. In a panic, he stupidly said he was sorry to Sue and ran off without saying anything else. It wasn't until later that he realized that his apology may have been taken the wrong way. He meant he was sorry that they were interrupted and that he had to leave, but since he knew Sue so well, he knew deep down that she would have thought that he was sorry for kissing her. He thought he even heard her say she was sorry too, and wondered if she thought it was all just a mistake. He knew she had been seeing Aiden for a while, although he wasn't sure if they were even still together. It was Christmas Eve and the rest of the night, his family never gave him a minute to himself to attempt to talk to Sue or go and see her. And he didn't want to take the risk of saying the wrong thing in a text message. He had to talk to her, either over the phone or in person. On Christmas morning, he snuck out of the house while the rest of his family was still asleep and he gently knocked on Sue's window, but she didn't respond and he didn't want to wake up anyone else, so he went home. He peaked out of his own living room window for a while, hoping to see a sign that someone was awake at the Heck's house but he knew they were late risers. When his family woke up, they opened presents and Nancy began whipping up a Christmas meal. When he eventually did see a sign of life at the Heck's house, he tried to run over there but at every attempt, he was pulled back by a family member to participate in one of their many traditions. He obsessively checked his phone, hoping to see a call or a text from Sue but none came. When he finally had a chance to escape from his house, he dashed back across the street but by then, no one was home. He took this all as a sign that Sue didn't want to talk to him and he gave up that day.

Now he was kicking himself for giving up his chance, especially now that he couldn't even get a simple text to go through. He just couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. He wondered if Sue felt the same way that he did. Why didn't she call? Maybe she regretted it and needed space. Maybe she did like it and thought that he didn't. He had no idea what to think, all he knew is that he had to talk to her.

When the Donahues arrived at the resort, he nearly jumped for joy when he saw that he had not one, but two bars of service on his phone. After unloading the luggage from the car, he plopped down on his bed and prepared to call Sue, but was interrupted when he got a text notification. His heart was pounding with anticipation as he opened the message. _Flibberdo._ The message said. "Flibberdo?" He asked out loud. He had waited days to talk to Sue and this was all she had to say? Before he typed a response, another message came in. _How are the blopes?_ Sue wrote. "Blopes?" He laughed out loud because it was clearly a typo. He took this as a sign that she was thinking about him after all and typed out his response. He cringed after he pressed send when he noticed typos of his own and a strange combination of emojis. He waited for a while for her to respond but she didn't say anything else.

"Honey! Come on! We are going to get dinner at the lodge!" Nancy yelled through the door and Sean groaned in frustration.

After dinner, the family played a series of board games while sitting next to the fireplace in the common area. Nancy's phone vibrated and she took a moment to read her messages. She took a sip of her hot chocolate before speaking.

"Ohhh! The Heck's are having a New Year's Eve party! That should be sooo much fun. Hmm...I wonder if they are trying to steal the holidays from me. First Christmas Eve, now New Year's Eve...they better not be planning anything for Valentine's Day. I better get those invitations sent out ASAP." Nancy blabbered.

"New Year's Eve?" Sean asked with a smile. He figured this would be the perfect opportunity to see Sue face to face, talk to her, and hopefully share a New Year's kiss. In just a few days, he would finally be able to tell Sue how he really felt.


	4. Hecks vs Glossners

A/N: I'm glad everyone is enjoying these little short stories. This one is a little different because I changed what happened in the show to reflect what I wish would have happened in the Hecks vs. Glossners episode since Sean wasn't in that one. Let me know what you think!

"Heeeeeelp!" Sue cried when she was trapped inside of the Glossner's house during the final showdown between the Hecks and the Glossners. Frankie, Mike, Axl, and Brick were just about to give up when they realized that Sue needed to be rescued. Luckily, the neighbors had noticed what was going on and decided to take back the neighborhood, once and for all. While Nancy Donahue finished packing up a container of deviled eggs, Sean had called her on his way back to his apartment from the library. He had planned on coming home that weekend, but needed to catch up on studying for one of his classes so at the last minute, decided to stay on campus.

"Hey Mom." He said over the phone when Nancy answered.

"Oh, hi honey...I'm so happy to hear your voice but I'm going to have to call you back. The neighborhood is fighting with the Glossners and Ron and I have to help out. I made deviled eggs because of those devilish boys over there. Someone needs to make them watch some Little House on the Prairie and feed them a good meal!" Nancy said. Sean rolled his eyes at her statement and wasn't surprised that there was yet another fight going on with the Glossners. Nancy glanced out of the window and noticed for the first time Sue banging on the window from inside of the Glossners house.

"Just be careful Mo..." Sean began to say when he was cut off by a frantic Nancy.

"Goodness! They have Sue locked in their house! I better go!" Nancy said and she ended the call.

"What!?" Sean yelled before noticing that there was no on one the other end. That was all he needed to bolt to his car and make the 42 minute journey to Orson, although the way he was feeling at this moment, he could have made the trip in 20 minutes. Ever since he was a kid, he had felt a strong urge to protect Sue...or any of the Hecks for that matter. But lately, his feelings grew even stronger and he knew that he had to be there for the woman he loved even if she didn't know that.

When he finally did arrive to Orson, the battle was already in full force. Everywhere he turned, there was a Glossner. Some of them he recognized, others he had never seen before and wondered where they all came from. He noticed Mike Heck kicking down the front door of the Glossners house and knew that him and Axl were going to rescue Sue from the Glossner house. He felt a little relieved that they were there, but he was a little jealous that he wasn't the one there to save her. While the battle raged on, no one seemed to notice Sean standing there off to the side. He knew he should be doing something but just couldn't figure out what it was. That's when he saw Mike and Axl leave the house and waited to see Sue following closely behind him, but she wasn't there. Where was Sue? He began to panic and started running toward the house. He stopped for a moment when he saw Derrick and Sue standing near the door. It appeared that they were arguing and Derrick threw some shiny object into the darkness.

"Noooo!" Sue yelled and she chased the object. She jumped on top of a keyboard stand and dove off in an attempt to catch the object. Sean ran in her direction and held out his arms, bracing himself for the impact. Sue crashed into his chest and the two of them fell to the ground, Sean breaking her fall. The object gently rolled out of view and under a pile of trash that littered the front yard of the Glossners house. Sean was on his back in the dirt and Sue faced him, chest to chest on the ground and she was completely speechless. Sean wasn't sure if he had the wind knocked out of him or if he was just lost in the moment, savoring the closeness. He gazed into her eyes that sparkled in the moonlight, and thought he noticed her blushing slightly, forcing him to smile.

"Are you okay Suzy Q?" He finally said when he caught his breath. He kept his hands wrapped around her waist, not wanting the moment to end but he knew that they couldn't stay like this forever.

"Sean...I..uh...yeah I'm okay." Sue stammered. She rolled off of him they both sat up. She cleared her throat and Sean attempted to brush some of the dirt off of his clothes. "Thanks...for catching me." Sue laughed. She leaned forward to hug him. Sean squeezed her tightly.

"It's like I said before." He said while they were still in their embrace. "We rescue each other." He said as he backed up so he could see her face. This time, he knew for sure that she was blushing and his own cheeks felt like they were on fire. It took all of the self control he had to resist just pulling her close and kissing her right then and there. Little did he know that Sue wanted the same thing. The sound of police arriving snapped them both back into reality. Sue heard Frankie calling for her and she stood up. Sean stood up too and exhaled sharply.

"Well...thanks again." Sue said as she pointed in the direction of her mom, signaling that she had to go. Sean smiled and nodded, watching her bend over to retrieve whatever object she was trying to save. She turned to face him and it looked like she was about to say something, but she just waved and headed toward her family.


	5. Guess Who's Coming to Frozen Dinner

A/N: Sorry that these stories aren't necessarily in order! I just write them as I think of ideas. Thank you for all of the great comments and suggestions!

Sean paced back and forth in front of the fountain in the park, his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for Sue to arrive so that he could finally confess his feelings for her. Over the past week, he had been placing little gifts at her front door hoping to woo her and after each gift, he waited not so patiently for Sue to say something...anything...but he hadn't heard from her. When he dropped off his second gift, he waited by his living room window to see Sue's reaction, but he felt pretty stupid when he saw Brick intercept the balloons and watched as Brick released them all into the air. He spent the next afternoon composing a handwritten note to include in a bouquet of flowers, which brought him to the park to wait for Sue to meet him. He stayed there for over an hour but no body ever came except for a tall girl, who looked familiar to him but he couldn't remember her name. He thought he remembered her from the Heck's house, one of Brick's friends...but he was too distracted to make small talk. Eventually, Sean decided that she wasn't coming and he started to walk home. He wondered if she got the flowers or any of the other gifts. He thought the kiss they shared on Christmas Eve and how he felt like he was punched in the gut when he saw Aiden kiss her on New Year's Eve. He wondered if her and Aiden were still together and if that was why Sue didn't show up. Luckily, they had already planned to have pizza for lunch together that upcoming Wednesday, so he would try to gauge her feelings then.

It seemed like an eternity for Wednesday to arrive and Sean found himself nearly running to Sue's apartment carrying the pizza that he agreed to pick up for their lunch 'date.' When he arrived, Sue warmly greeted him with a hug and ushered him into the kitchen. She seemed to be acting completely normal, which made Sean feel even more confused. While they ate, they talked about their classes and Sue mentioned that she was counting down the days until summer. Sean was elated to find out that Sue would be spending the summer in Orson this year and not going back to Dollywood like she had talked about in the past. Suddenly he was fantasizing about spending summer vacation with Sue when he was snapped back to reality with a hand waving in his face.

"Earth to Sean...Earth to Sean...can you hear me?" Sue asked as she waved her hand in front of his face. Sean laughed and took another bite of his pizza.

"Sorry Suzy Q. I was just thinking..." He said, covering his full mouth with his hand as he spoke to hide his chewed up food.

"Clearly." Sue laughed. "What's on your mind? Oh...God...you're not thinking about this mess are you? I didn't mean to leave all of my clothes sitting around but the dryer stopped working this morning and I didn't have anywhere else to..." Sue blabbered and Sean stopped her.

"No, no...that's not it at all." Sean defended as he considered just telling her the truth right then and there. He didn't know if the moment would ever really be perfect, so he thought that maybe he could at least try to get a little bit of information from Sue. "Actually, I was just thinking about...how much I love...Snow Drifts. Yeah. I could really go for a Snow Drift right about now." Sean said, hoping Sue had received the gift on her front porch and would finally say something.

"Snow Drifts? I LOVE those! I wonder if they have any at 7/11. We could TOTALLY go and get some!" Sue suggested eagerly. It was pretty clear that Sue didn't catch onto his clue and he figured that the first gift was intercepted too.

"Figures." He accidently said out loud.

"Hmm?" Sue wondered. Sean shook his head.

"I...uh...I just meant I should have known you would like them. Who doesn't?" Sean laughed awkwardly.

"I know, right?" Sue agreed. "It's funny that you brought that up actually." Sue continued.

"Oh?" Sean questioned. This was it. She must have known that he left that gift for her.

"Yeah. Brick was eating Snow Drifts the other day and I thought about getting some for myself. I just love how they remind me of Christmas..." Sue said but then almost regretted mentioning Christmas. She so desperately wanted to talk to Sean about the kiss but neither of them ever brought it up. It was almost as if they were trying to act like it didn't happen even though Sue thought about it everyday, not knowing that Sean thought about it constantly as well. Sean's eyes widened and he waited for her to say more, but she didn't.

"Christmas." Sean said quietly, trying to keep the conversation going. "I actually wanted to talk about what happened...on Christmas..." Sean bit his lip and tried to avoid eye contact, in fear of rejection.

"Really? Me too...I'm sorry that I didn't..." Sue was interrupted by the front door suddenly swinging open. Lexie cheerfully entered the apartment and threw her backpack onto the floor next to the couch. She made her way into the kitchen while Sean and Sue shared a look, both wondering what the other was thinking but unable to say anything now that they were no longer alone.

"Hey guys! Aren't you getting sick of having pizza almost every week?" Lexie joked as she pulled a slice out of the box. "Oh, who am I kidding?" Lexie continued as she took a bite.

"Hey Lex." Sue said, the disappointment was clear in her voice and Sean took notice.

"Everything okay, Sue?" Lexie asked. "If it's about Aiden I actually just ran into him on my way home and he wanted me to tell you he was sorry about blowing off your date tonight because of the last minute gig that he got. He said he really needed that ten bucks." Lexie shrugged. Sean's heart sank when he heard Aiden's name mentioned. Sue was equally annoyed because while she agreed to give Aiden a chance, she just wasn't really feeling it and she knew deep down that her heart belonged to the guy sitting across the table from her. In an attempt to change the mood in the room, Sue tried to wave it off like it was no big deal.

"Eh...I didn't really want to go out tonight anyway..." Sue said. "Or any night for that matter." Sue mumbled under her breath so that no one could hear her.

"Your loss, he is pretty cute." Lexie continued.

"Can we NOT talk about this right now?" Sue nudged Lexie and understanding flashed across her face.

"OH. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I'm just going to go eat this in my room." Lexie stammered. Sean stood up and carried his plate to the sink.

"No, it's okay...I should...get to the library so I can study for my exam." Sean started to walk toward the door and Sue followed after him.

"Do you have to go already?" Sue asked, wanting to continue their conversation but knowing that wasn't going to happen.

"Yeah, I really should. I'll see you around Suzy Q. See you later, Lexie." He said as he waved to both of them and stepped out. When the door closed, Sue leaned against it and let out a deep breath.

"Lexie! I think he was THIS close to finally saying something and you blew it!" Sue squeezed her thumb and index fingers together for emphasis.

"I'm soooo sorry, girl!" Lexie cried as she ran over to hug her friend. "To be fair, I didn't know you still...I mean you're with Aiden now..." Lexie suggested.

"I know I know, don't remind me." Sue rolled her eyes. She knew she really had to let Aiden go.


	6. Eyes Wide Open

Sue tossed and turned on her bed in an attempt to fall asleep after 3 restless nights. It was dinner time and she thought she would try to go to sleep before the sun set, hoping that it would take some of the edge off after watching the Silence of the Lambs alone in her apartment. Why hadn't she read the movie description before pressing play? She was kicking herself now for being so stupid. After switching sides for what seemed like the hundredth time, she tossed her pink and purple floral comforter to the other side of the bed and sat up. "Ice cream." Sue perked up and headed toward the kitchen in search of the cold treat. All she found were frozen fish sticks and a smashed up ice cream sandwich that had left brown streaks on the bottom of the freezer. She noted to herself to clean that up later and decided to go to the frozen yogurt shop that her and Lexie frequented. Sue nearly jumped out of her own skin when a tall figure walked around the corner catching her off guard, despite the fact that it was still daylight. Sue reached into her pocket and pulled out a small tube and used it to defend herself.

"I have pepper spray and I'm not afraid to use it!" She shouted as she held up a tube of pink lip gloss. Her dad had actually given her a real can of pepper spray to carry around, but it sat unused on Sue's bookshelf. Right now, she wished she would have listened to her dad until she realized who was standing in front of her.

"Whoa...there Suzy Q. Easy with that stuff!" Sean backed up, holding his hands up to defend himself and then taking note of the lip gloss. Sean laughed and pointed to the tube. "You know, makeup isn't the best defense mechanism. Are you okay?" He quipped, but his tone became more serious when he saw that Sue was obviously a nervous wreck.

"Sean!" Sue held a hand up to cover her chest as she attempted to calm herself. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to...I am just so..." She stammered as as tears began to well up in her eyes. She wasn't sad, but the lack of sleep was taking its toll on her and she wanted nothing more than to just crawl into bed and actually fall asleep. Sean's eyes were filled with concern and without a second thought, he pulled her close and allowed her to gently sob onto his St. Matthew's polo shirt. Sue was lost in the moment until she heard his voice once again.

"Seriously, are you okay? What's wrong?" Sean asked as he pulled back to look at her face. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a pile of restaurant napkins in lieu of tissues and offered them to her. She took one and dabbed away the small amount of tears. Sue let out a deep breath and tried to regain her composure.

"It's stupid. I had the apartment to myself this weekend so I thought I would watch some movies...and I accidentally watched a scary one and I haven't been able to sleep in 3 days! I keep trying to fall asleep and I just can't keep my eyes closed!" She said and Sean smiled gently, and placed his hand on her shoulder compassionately. He looked at his watch and remembered where he was going when he had bumped into Sue.

"Have you eaten yet?" Sean asked simply and Sue thought about it.

"I've barely even thought about food today...but I was thinking about getting some froyo..." Sue responded, but she wasn't really craving it anymore.

"I was just on my way to pick up dinner at Lucky Panda. Do you want to have dinner with me?" He asked, wondering if it sounded like he was asking her out on a date, which wasn't his intention but he would totally love to go out on a date with her. He looked at her for a moment to see if her expression had changed but she looked so exhausted that her face barely changed. "Maybe it would take your mind off of things...plus, you have to eat something" Sean continued casually. Sue finally smiled and nodded.

"That sounds great. I haven't had Chinese food since the last time my mom 'made' dinner." She laughed as they walked side by side, talking about the movie that Sue had watched. When a door of one of the many shops opened up while they were walking by, Sue jumped and shrieked once again and Sean quickly turned and grabbed onto both of her shoulders.

"Wow, that movie really did freak you out, didn't it." He smiled and Sue practically melted in response to his touch. She rolled her eyes and smiled, trying to brush off the fear even though she still felt jittery inside. As they continued walking, Sean wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "Here, this way you'll be safe." He joked and Sue tried to hide her blushing. The movie was becoming a distant memory and her frightened jitters were replaced with nervous jitters as they ate their meal together in the small restaurant. Since Sean had originally only ordered dinner for one, Sue decided to order orange chicken for herself which was always her favorite. When she finished eating, she unwrapped her fortune cookie and Sean smiled at her when she excitedly cracked it open.

"Are you kidding me?!" Sue exclaimed when she discovered that her cookie was completely empty. Sean just laughed and shoved his fortune cookie across the table.

"You can have mine." He told her and she smiled brightly at him. Sue cracked it open and this time, there was a piece of paper inside and she pulled it out to read it silently to herself. The fortune read _When you open your eyes you will see that true love is right in front of you._ Sue looked up to see Sean looking right at her and she squealed in amusement. Sean couldn't help but laugh at her excitement. He always loved that about her. He reached his hand across the table in an attempt to grab the piece of paper but Sue quickly pulled her hand back and shoved the paper into her pocket. Sean made a pretend sad face and held his open palm above the table. "It must be a good one. Let me see!" Sean chuckled. Sue just shook her head and smiled.

"If I let you see it then it won't come true...and I REALLY want it to come true!" Sue said enthusiastically. Sean sighed in defeat and gathered their trash to throw it away. He walked Sue back to her apartment and she was no longer as jumpy as she had been when he first ran into her. He hugged her goodbye and Sue locked the door after closing it. Feeling more calm than before, she thought she would finally be able to go to sleep. As she sat down on the couch, she pulled the fortune out of her pocket and read it once again before placing it on the coffee table. She covered herself with a blanket and tried to close her eyes, but this time she couldn't sleep because she was replaying the events of the evening in her head.


	7. Thank You for Not Kissing

A/N: Thank you for all of the great comments and suggestions! I've been wanting to write an extra scene for Split Decision but was trying to think of what to put in there. And I know that for Eyes Wide Open, I would have preferred to have Sean helping her fall asleep but I didn't want to change the existing story line of Mike being there for her because I thought it was a very sweet moment. That's why had had Sean help her get over the movie fear and it was replaced with happy feelings that were still keeping her awake. My goal is to extend scenes that were cut short in the show, and also to insert more scenes with Sean in episodes that I wanted him to be in (who am I kidding, I wanted him in EVERY episode lol!) So again, thank you all for the wonderful suggestions and I will do my best to make you happy, and I will continue working on my other stories as well. :)

"They do a lot of charity work, too." Sean continued to talk about his upcoming trip to Ghana but Sue was barely paying attention at this point. She mindlessly twirled her hair and put on a happy face, but inside her heart was aching. She was finally ready to tell Sean how she felt about him, but now didn't feel like the right time anymore. Sean would be spending the summer away and she didn't want to risk him giving up an opportunity like this just to make her happy. That is, if he even felt the same way about her.

"Aaaand, here I am going on and on and I didn't even ask you what brought you here?" Sean finally asked. It wasn't that unusual for Sue to stop by, but after they shared that passionate kiss on Christmas Eve, the visits became less frequent. He assumed it was because she didn't feel the same way as he felt, and that being around each other was a little awkward now. He tried to let it go, but every time he saw her face it was as if a bandage was ripped off of him, reopening the same wound. He thought that maybe having some time away from it all would give him a chance to get over her and move on with his life. That's what he thought when he first applied to the program in the Fall after his failed attempt to ask her out. Since then, there had been so many mixed signals and he really didn't know what to think. For the first time since opening his front door, he took the chance to notice that Sue was a little more dressed up than usual, wearing a cute dress that showed off her delicate frame.

"Oh...I uh...I...was just in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by and say hi. I guess I am always in the same neighborhood! We're practically on the same campus! And...I haven't seen you in a while and I was wondering what you were up to and so on and so forth and what have you...now I know! You're going to Ghana!" She tried to sound enthusiastic but her voice was a little unsteady.

"Yeah! I guess I am." Sean agreed, the excitement no longer apparent in his voice. "So, um...do you want to come in? I actually do have some champagne and I'd love to celebrate with you, Suzy Q." Sean offered, gesturing to his lonely apartment. He didn't have any roommates this semester. After finding out about his less than acceptable grades last semester, Nancy Donahue insisted that her son move to a studio apartment so that he wouldn't have any more distractions, not that his roommates were distracting, but there was no arguing with Nancy so he complied.

"Uhhhh...sure! But I'll only have a little bit. You remember what happened on my 21st birthday, don't you? I mean, I assume you do because I barely remember a thing!" Sue laughed nervously, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had witnessed her drunken state the one and only time she had more than one thing to drink. Sean nodded and chuckled, setting his laptop down and ushering her into the apartment.

"I'll never forget it." Sean laughed and reminisced to himself about what happened that night. He remembered her saying that she liked him. He remembered her asking him to kiss her, but of course he didn't because she was completely wasted. He remembered cleaning up after her. He remembered Aiden running out of the apartment when she got sick. What he remembered most of all was when they had both fallen asleep on the couch, her head resting on his lap as he stroked her face and hair until he also fell asleep. He wanted nothing more than to experience that again, except of course, with a sober Sue. He wondered how much of that night she even remembered. He handed Sue a glass of bubbly champagne and took a sip of his own glass of liquid courage before deciding what to say next. "So...what exactly DO you remember about that night?" Sean asked. Sue raised her glass and they clinked glasses without words being spoken. She took a long, slow sip of her champagne and dug through her mind in search of memories.

"Hmm...well...I remember running into you, and I remember you picking me up off of the floor of my apartment." She laughed before going on. "And I remember Aiden leaving...but you stayed. It was REALLY nice of you to stay. Have I ever thanked you for that?" She asked and Sean shrugged it off with a smile. "Anyway, that's about all I remember. I can't believe I was so out of it. Let's just say that drinking isn't exactly my thing." She continued. "So did anything else happen that night?" She asked and Sean nearly choked on his champagne.

"Oh. Well...you know. Sometimes when people have had too much to drink, they say some things that they wouldn't normally say..." Sean began, unsure if he should tell her everything.

"OH MY GOSH. What did I say? I bet I told you something REALLY embarrassing that I would never tell ANYONE like the time I got my arm stuck in the vending machine at school when it ate my money. It wasn't my fault that it was my last dollar and I hadn't eaten anything ALL day and I just wanted that bag of chips but it got stuck and I thought I would be able to reach it but my arm got stuck and my Psychology professor found me there and had to help me out." Sue rambled and Sean was taken aback. By the look of surprise on his face, it was clear that this was the first time he heard this story and Sue's face turned bright red. "Aaaaand you didn't know that..." She finished and buried her face in her palms. Sean laughed and patted her shoulder.

"It's okay, Suzy Q. Remember that time when you had to rescue me from the drainage ditch with your jump rope? I was completely mortified that I had to be rescued by a girl back then. But my point is...we all get stuck from time to time and need a little help...and I'm glad I was able to help you the night of your birthday...and...if I would have seen you stuck at the vending machine I would have helped you then too. I would have even taken you to the convenience store after to get you a bag of chips so you wouldn't have to sacrifice any more limbs." He joked and nudged her in the arm. Sue uncovered her face and finally laughed.

"You are SOOO sweet, Sean. How did I ever get so lucky to have a..." She thought carefully. "friend like you?" She continued, but was kicking herself for not telling him the true reason for her visit when he asked her earlier. Now she was worried that she cornered him in the friend-zone. "I mean...the kids in Ghana are going to be so lucky to have such a great guy there to help them." She continued. Sean sighed and had almost completely forgotten about Ghana already.

"Heh. Yeah...about that...the whole reason I applied was because..." He began to say when he was interrupted by his cell phone. He groaned quietly in frustration when he saw that his mom was calling him. "Sorry, It's just my mom..." He apologized and Sue shook her head.

"It's okay, go ahead." Sue insisted.

"Hi, mom." He answered the phone and mouthed 'thanks' to Sue, holding up his index finger to signal that he would try to make this short. "So you got my email about Ghana? Yes I already printed out the forms. Mom...I have it taken care of...I have to go...Mom...can we just talk about this later? Okay I'll come over for dinner. I'll see you later. I know I love you too. Bye mom." Sean hung up the phone and let out a deep sigh. "I forgot I forwarded the email to her when I got it. I'm actually surprised she waited THIS long to hound me." Sean laughed and Sue agreed.

"She just really loves you and worries about you. She's a good mom." Sue replied and Sean nodded.

"I know, but sometimes I wish she would loosen the strings a little bit. Like your parents. They have always been so laid back." Sean said. Sue let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Ha. That's not always the best thing. How many birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions have YOUR parents forgotten?" Sue rolled her eyes. She often felt like the forgotten middle child, living in the shadows of her older brother and her younger brother who was 'special.' She wondered if she was just Axl's little sister to Sean too. Suddenly she was feeling very self conscious.

"I don't know how anyone could ever forget about you." Sean replied earnestly and Sue smiled.

"That's why I love you." Sue said and Sean's eyes widened. He turned to notice that Sue had inadvertently finished off the rest of the bottle of cheap champagne while he was on the phone with his mom and he sighed. He wondered if alcohol was like truth serum for Sue and hoped that even though she was tipsy, she was telling the truth.

"You do?" He asked cautiously, not trying to take advantage of her in her current state but wanting to hear more of those words coming out of her mouth.

"Duh. Why else would I cuddle with your scarf that you left at my apartment every night before I fall asleep?" She laughed and hiccuped, making her laugh even harder. Sean, being the gentleman that he was, decided that he shouldn't pry anymore and helped Sue off of the couch.

"I should walk you home. I have to get going to my parents' house anyway or else I'll never hear the end of it." Sean said, reaching for his jacket on the way out the door. While he slung the jacket over his shoulders, he was caught off guard when Sue clumsily grabbed him by the collar and pressed her lips against his. He inhaled sharply in surprise and would have given in to the kiss if only he weren't a Donahue. As much as he dreamed of this moment, he didn't want it to happen like this. He needed to talk to her face to face, and sober. He reluctantly pulled back and held onto Sue's shoulders to steady her. That's when she pouted, giving Sean her saddest puppy dog eyes and whined.

"What. Don't you like meeee?" She teased, pouting her lips. Sean sighed and led her down the hallway.

"Remind me not to give you alcohol." He replied sadly, even though he now carried a small glimmer of hope in his heart.


	8. Split Decision

"Bye, Suzy Q." Sean said reluctantly. Sue forced a smile.

"Yep...bye." She replied as Sean backed away. When the door closed, the fake smile fell from Sean's face and he exhaled sharply. His eyes were wet as he fought to maintain his composure as he walked back across the street to his house. He hoped that no one in his family would see him as he walked in and he lucked out. He made it to his bedroom unnoticed and closed the door softly behind him. He thew the red duffle bag onto his bed and stood in front of his closet for a long moment. He then haphazardly tossed assorted clothes across the room. He turned to see the mess that he made and sighed. He walked to the bed and collected each article of clothing, folding each piece carefully and packed them into the bag. He had never felt like this about ANYONE before and he so desperately wanted to tell Sue how he really felt about her. He thought about going back across the street and letting it all out, but didn't know if it would be right to do that just before flying half way across the world for 3 months. But what if she did feel the same way? Maybe she wouldn't mind waiting 3 months for them to be together. Maybe the distance would end up tearing them apart. Maybe she didn't feel the same way about him and then he would be distracted with heartbreak while he was in Ghana where he was supposed to be focusing on the less fortunate. What if she met someone new during the summer? He hated the thought of seeing her with someone else, but he didn't want to interfere with her happiness. He decided it would be best to just try to get over her. If they didn't end up together during the 5 months that passed after their Christmas kiss, who was he to think that anything would happen during the next few days? He finished packing his clothes and placed the packed bag near the front door.

"Sean? Is that you?" Nancy called from the other room.

"Yeah, it's me." He replied as he stepped into view.

"Are you ready to go to the church to pack care packages for the troops? I was supposed to be there 15 minutes ago but I was waiting for you." She said.

"Sure, mom. Let's go." He replied. He figured that it was worth trying anything to take his mind off of his love life.

"RON! WE'RE GOING TO THE CHURCH NOW!" Nancy shouted from the front door.

"HAVE FUN!" He called out from the other room.

"Oh, I forgot my phone. I'll be right back." Sean told his mom as he went back to his bedroom, running into his father in the hallway.

"Hey, son. You know that it's pretty obvious for a man to tell when another man has been crying." He pointed at Sean's red eyes and patted him on the shoulder.

"What?" Sean asked surprised, wiping his eyes in an attempt to hide the evidence. "I'm...fine...it must be allergies or something..." He defended. Ron shook his head.

"It's Sue, isn't it?" Ron asked. Sean's mouth flung open in shock.

"W...what? Why would it be...what makes you think that?" Sean questioned. Ron chuckled sympathetically and lowered his voice so that Nancy wouldn't hear him.

"Let's just say...on Christmas Eve when I was chasing down that Glossner kid, I may have spotted you and Sue in the backyard..." Ron explained. Sean's eyes widened and his face was flushed.

"You...saw that?" Sean whispered. Ron smiled and nodded.

"It's pretty easy to notice how much your face lights up whenever anyone mentions her name. But don't worry, I haven't told anyone. It's between you and Sue." Ron said. Sean sighed, feeling slightly relieved that someone finally knew his secret.

"Dad...I don't know what to do. I...I love her. And she has no idea. She hasn't even brought the whole thing up and it's been 5 months. She probably doesn't even care..." Sean explained and Ron shook his head.

"I wouldn't be too quick to assume that. I've seen the way her face lights up too whenever you two are in the same room. Although to be fair, it's Sue and she's always so happy...anyway, my point is that if it's meant to be, it will be." Ron said.

"Yeah, if either one of us ever speak up." Sean rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. He never had a problem being clear with girls in the past, but with Sue, he knew he struggled with communication.

"Well, why haven't YOU said anything?" Ron questioned. Sean thought about it for a minute.

"I guess because I'm scared. I don't want to get my heart broken." Sean replied.

"Maybe that's how Sue feels, have you ever thought about that?" Ron asked. Sean sighed.

"I should have just given her that snowglobe I bought her last year and asked her out. At least then I would have my answer." Sean said. Nancy shouted from the other room.

"SEAN! LET'S GO!" She said and Sean gave his dad a sarcastic smile and hugged him goodbye.

Later, Ron was only a little surprised to see Sue at his front door in search of Sean. He couldn't help but notice that she was holding a snowglobe and he wondered what the whole significance was to this little trinket. He was interrupted by a phone call from work and excused himself, but he saw Sue carefully place the globe into Sean's packed duffle bag. He smiled, knowing that now the wheels were in motion and that his son would finally get the answers he had been waiting for.


End file.
